Queensland government mapping officers have progressively been working through the imagery, going house-by-house, street-by-street, literally hand drawing the high water mark or flood line by plotting the debris and mud lines.

But the state government today released an interactive mapping tool featuring an overlay that shows exactly where the flood line was at the peak.

Residents in Brisbane and numerous other flood-affected communities can type in their address and see how far the water came, with flooded areas marked by blue shading.

The resource is sure to be of interest to prospective real estate buyers, who will be able to check the property in relation to the city or town flood line.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the Australian Defence Force and private aerial imaging providers had been helping to capture aerial images of disaster-devastated towns and cities since December.

“This has involved hundreds of hours of painstakingly flying back and forth over our towns and cities in pre-determined patterns capturing footage with ultra-high resolution, digital imaging equipment,” she said in a statement.

“Queensland government mapping officers have progressively been working through the imagery, going house-by-house, street-by-street, literally hand drawing the high water mark or flood line by plotting the debris and mud lines.”

Ms Bligh said this was more accurate than past practices.

“In past flood events, such as Brisbane’s 1974 floods and other major flood events in the state, mapping of flood lines has been done by measuring the water gauge heights and then relying on available land contours to make an educated guess on where the water went,” she said.

The authority’s chairman, Major General Mick Slater, said human error was possible because the mapping had been done by real people.

“Throughout our interactive map feature there are community feedback buttons,” he said.

“If you think we’ve got the flood line wrong in your area, please let us know via the feedback option.”

Areas featured in the first round of public maps include Baralaba, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Condamine, Emerald, Goondiwindi, Ipswich, Jandowae, St George, Surat, Talwood, Thallon and Theodore, but more locations will be added in coming weeks.

The flood line maps will be handed over to local councils to help them with planning.